A Teacher. A Motocross Rider. A Young Man. Liam Parsons Needs Our Help

Liam Parsons is a motocross champion. You have probably have never heard his name before. There are no RacerX or Cycle News headlines on Liam. No Loretta Lynn championships nor Jeff Emig or Ralph Sheheen Monster Energy Supercross Saturday night Fox Sports 1 television interviews either.

He is a teacher and a motocross rider. He is 12 years old. Now, he and his family, need our thoughts and help as Liam’s leukemia is back.

As a volunteer for MX for Children I have seen many touching moments of the Champions of our sport exhibiting true role model behavior to severely ill children in need. Roger DeCoster, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed, Trey Canard, and the JGR MX team come to mind as examples.

Our Motocross & Supercross champions have brought smiles and laughter to sick children in the most serious of situations. For example I will never forget Ricky & Chad touring the Oncology ICU ward of Seattle Children’s Hospital handing out MX & SX toys from a little red wagon that they pulled around.

Liam here is a peer to Roger, Ricky, Chad, Trey, and the Coy Gibbs JGR MX crew in his ability to give and help.

I first met Liam, and his Dad Glen, about 5 years ago at the Toronto round of the Monster Energy Supercross series. Liam had qualified for our MX for Children Inside Line Experience (ILE) event. Having been a top ILE fund raiser – with all of his funds going to support the local hospital Sick Kids of Toronto – Liam was rewarded with ILE access to the event: Exclusive press day coverage; a track walk; multiple factory rig tours; and VIP seating.

All of our young fund raisers stand out as they showcase the best of our youth in their ability to recognize a needy cause and to help and to give back. Liam though stood out. He stood out in a very unique way. I learned he was fighting leukemia at the time and was receiving treatment for it at Sick Kids in Toronto.

His story gave me pause…I thought about it for a bit. Liam was raising funds for disease research at the same hospital and at the same time that he was being treated for his leukemia. I have always thought this was one of the powerful lessons learned in MX for Children volunteering. Liam was the Teacher just like Ricky and Chad were.

Now, five years forward to the present. He is 12 now and is still a loyal KTM racer. His favorite riders still are Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin, Josh Hill, and Ken Roczen. When possible he races in his native Canada. But his leukemia has recently come back requiring him to spend the next 30 days or so at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto for intensive treatment.

Glen says Liam is a fighter! What else would one expect from a 12 year old motocross racer, right? So, please take a moment and send some positive vibes, prayers, and karma Liam’s way. A family friend has also set up a Go Fund Me site to support the family with unexpected expenses. If you would like to contribute that way, please visit it here: https://www.gofundme.com/cjhmsxzs

Sincerely,

Rex Backman
rex@mxforchildren.com